Gabriel Cowan is an American

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and film producer. He has made

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

horror films Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

dramas Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been c ...

, and

comedies Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Gr ...

Career

Gabriel Cowan was originally a musician. At 18, he worked with

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...

to score the film ''

Jimmy Hollywood ''Jimmy Hollywood'' is a 1994 American comedy film written and directed by Barry Levinson and starring Joe Pesci and Christian Slater. It was released on April 1, 1994, and was a box-office bomb, grossing just $3 million against its $30 million b ...

'' and signed a contract with

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

. He later formed a band with

David Arquette David Arquette (; born September 8, 1971) is an American actor, producer, and retired professional wrestler. Arquette's breakout came with his starring role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film '' Scream'' (1996), a role which he later reprised i ...

that helped score ''

Scream 2 ''Scream 2'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Jerry O'Connell, Jada P ...

'' and ''

Scream 3 ''Scream 3'' is a 2000 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Ehren Kruger. It stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette, Parker Posey, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Lance Henriksen, Matt Keeslar, ...

''. After an unfulfilling career in which he scored television commercials, Cowan returned to school and graduated with a master's degree in film directing. While at

CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the ...

, he co-wrote and co-directed '' Breathing Room'' with

John Suits John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

, whom he met at film school. He also directed, shot, and produced '' Flower in the Gun Barrel'', a documentary that explores the complexities of forgiveness and reconciliation in post

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

. The film is produced by Amiee Clark and Monica Forouzesh, and is narrated by

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

. After graduating, Cowan directed ''

Growth Growth may refer to: Biology *Auxology, the study of all aspects of human physical growth *Bacterial growth *Cell growth *Growth hormone, a peptide hormone that stimulates growth *Human development (biology) *Plant growth *Secondary growth, growt ...

'', which became the number one horror rental on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. Cowan and Suits then collaborated on '' Extracted'' and '' Static''. In 2012, Cowan directed and produced ''

3 Nights in the Desert ''3 Nights in the Desert'' is a 2014 American drama film directed by Gabriel Cowan, written by Adam Chanzit, and starring Amber Tamblyn, Wes Bentley, and Vincent Piazza. The film premiered on January 4, 2014, at the Palm Springs International Fil ...

''. With New Artists Alliance, which he formed with Suits, he produced ''

Bad Milo! ''Bad Milo!'' is a 2013 American horror comedy film written by Jacob Vaughan and Benjamin Hayes and directed by Jacob Vaughan. The film stars Ken Marino, Gillian Jacobs, Peter Stormare, Stephen Root, Mary Kay Place, and Patrick Warburton. The fi ...

'', '' The Scribbler'', and '' Cheap Thrills''. In 2013, Cowan produced ''

Just Before I Go ''Just Before I Go'', previously entitled ''Hello I Must Be Going'', is a 2014 American black comedy drama film directed by Courteney Cox, in her second directorial effort, from a screenplay written by David Flebotte, starring Seann William Scott, ...

'',

Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox (born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She rose to international prominence by playing Monica Geller in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004) and Gale Weathers in the horror film franchise '' Scream'' ...

's directorial debut.

Personal life

Cowan grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. His grandfather created ''

The $64,000 Question ''The $64,000 Question'' is an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the ...

'', and

Spike Jonze Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze ...

is his 3rd cousin. Cowan's great-great-grandfather was Joseph Spiegel, the founder of the

Spiegel Catalog Spiegel was an United States of America, American direct marketing retailer founded in 1865 by Joseph Spiegel. Spiegel published a catalog, like its competitors Sears, Aldens, and Montgomery Ward, which advertised various brands of apparel, ac ...

. His great-grandfather, Modie J. Spiegel, eventually took over the catalog in 1893. Modie's brother,

Arthur Spiegel Arthur Henry Spiegel I (January 12, 1885 – April 7, 1916) was an American mail-order businessman and early film studio executive. Biography Spiegel was the youngest son of Jewish businessman Joseph Spiegel, founder of the Spiegel Home Furn ...

, was the great-grandfather of

and

Sam Spiegel Samuel P. Spiegel (November 11, 1901December 31, 1985) was an American independent film producer. Financially responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed motion pictures of the 20th century, Spiegel produced films that won the Academy ...

. His aunt was Rachel Cowan, the first female convert to Judaism to be ordained as a rabbi in

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Gabriel Living people Film producers from California American horror film directors Film directors from Los Angeles Year of birth missing (living people) Spiegel family American people of German-Jewish descent